I mentioned in one of my last posts that I thought it would be fun to make this blog about living minimally in a small home. I've been thinking about ‘minimal living’ since I wrote that post and wondering if my lifestyle really reflects that. A few months ago I was reading a book about styling your home and there was a "find your style" type quiz. I took the quiz and the results told me that my style was 'minimalism.' Interesting. That is not what I would have picked for myself. I asked a few friends if they thought that it was an accurate description of my style and they all agreed with the quiz.
If you looked at my home I don’t think you would really feel like it was minimalist. When I think of minimalist decorating I think of cold monochromatic modern homes. I think of a living room with a square modern sofa, plant and a lamp--that's it. My home is full of color and warmth. I have lots of knick-knacks, pillows and keepsakes to make each room feel cozy. While I don't think I want to minimalist in my decor style, do want to be minimalist when it comes to having stuff, especially in my home.
Over the past few months, I got a feeling that I am just over stuff. I don't want to have to worry about organizing, storing and cleaning my stuff. I want to be more intentional about the things we purchase and bring into our home. I feel like every time Ryan and I leave the house we come home with bags of newly purchased stuff. More stuff to add to our already large pile of stuff.
I’ve had these thoughts rolling around in my head over the past few weeks. I'm trying to be more intentional when I am out shopping or running errands to avoid collecting more stuff. I have to admit it's really hard. When I first thought about being more minimal, I think I romanticized the idea in my head. I thought it would be so easy to give up shopping and buying new things. But, I am learning that I have to retrain my tendencies and my brain.
I have gotten myself to a point where I feel almost a compulsion to buy when I see something I like. I mean, I have the money; I have the space; I deserve that new thing; I work hard; it's really pretty and it might not be here the next time I am out; I’m going to be missing out on something good. All true things, but it still doesn't mean I need to buy that thing I want. Buying that new shirt, or throw pillow might give me immediate satisfaction, but it won't last. The next time I am out, I will see another new shirt or another new pillow that will make me lose all memory of my love for that shirt or pillow I bought last week.
I want to learn how to be content with what I have here and now, and not always be looking for more. I think this desire we have as humans to want more, is part of our fallen human nature. Really, it was there at the first sin. Eve wanted more and Satan was more than willing to craft a lie to make her believe she did indeed need more.
But the serpent said to the woman "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate... Genesis 3:4-6
Eve thought she was missing out. She believed Satan's lie that the fruit was what she was missing in life; she believed that the fruit would make her happy. Instead of focusing on God's provision of the ENTIRE rest of the garden, Eve focused on what she didn't have. She was seduced by the fruit that was a 'delight to the eyes.' I think so often I am seduced, like Eve, by things that are a 'delight to the eyes'. Instead of focusing on all the ways God has provided for me, I get distracted by the things I don't have and think I need.
Satan understands this, in fact, the first thing he did when he encountered Eve was question God's provision:
He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" Genesis 3:1
Eve corrects him, but in correcting him, she begins to think of the one and only thing God had 'kept' from her. In fact, she added to God's word, saying that God didn't even allow her to touch the fruit. That was not true. God had warned her and Adam not to eat the fruit, but he had never said not to touch it at all. Eve's heart seemed to already be longing for the fruit: creating extra rules around it. She made herself believe that God was keeping something really great from her.
The ironic thing is that the fruit gave Eve exactly what was promised and what she thought she was missing out on, the knowledge of good and evil. Unfortunately, that knowledge created a chasm between her and God. What she wanted turned out to not actually be good for her after all. God wanted Eve to be content with what he had provided for her. The one thing that he had not given her was held back to protect her. God did not want her to eat of the fruit because he wanted her to have a perfect relationship with him. One where she could literally walk beside him and speak with him.
God gives us what we need, and he wants for us to be content in that. He wants us to rest knowing that he is the perfect provider. We don't need more than what he has given us. I think when we choose, with God’s help, to cultivate a spirit of contentment, our lives will naturally become more minimalist. With a spirit of contentment our hearts realize that the things we think we need, are actually just wants, and that we will be okay without them. I don’t think I am fully there yet, but maybe the results of that silly style quiz point to the fact that God has already been working on my heart in this area. I don’t think this journey will be an easy one. It will mean retraining my heart and mind, but really, isn’t that what pursuing a relationship with God is all about?
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